Thin films of tetragonal zirconia (3Y–TZ) deposited by reactive sputtering

Thin films of tetragonal zirconia (TZ), comprised of 3 mol% Y2O3 (3Y–TZ), were deposited onto silicon, oxide-coated silicon, slide glass and aluminum oxide substrates by reactive sputtering of metallic targets in mixtures of oxygen and argon. The texture of deposited films varied with oxygen-to-argon flow ratios with which the target surface altered between metal and oxide compound constituents. Thin films of TZP with (2 0 0) preferred orientation were obtained from sputter deposition in the metallic mode whereas (1 1 1) texture was obtained in the compound mode at ambient temperature. The film texture tends to align along the 〈1 1 1〉 direction while the substrate was heated to 300 °C during the deposition. The texture of all these films was stable upon annealing at 900 °C in air. The reasons for the texture development are discussed.